Christmas Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to spending time with her relatives during the festive period, but notes a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the main festive feast.
For her, Christmas is a especially challenging season as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and sniffling trigger intense distress.
"I experience this wave of sudden panic, my whole body will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to manage these sounds."
Lottie has lived with this condition for several years and for her that renders the holiday period "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, particularly those made by individuals.
It's surprisingly common amongst adults. Experts discovered a significant portion of people experience it.
Frequently it's noises associated with eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, including examples such as chewing, breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
Lottie says: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it.
"My relatives are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous period can transform into a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a powerful reaction that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with misophonia from childhood, states currently her plan is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. On any other day, she would frequently go in a different room to avoid distressing triggers.
She explains her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"There is pressure to be around family, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"I feel as if this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will kick in.
"It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it."
Several Strategies to Cope
If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Picture Something Else: Creative thinking is essential. Try to associate the specific noise bothering you with something completely different. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the culprit. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at mimicking the sound. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or are troubled. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
